The Moon and the Star
by Poecilotheria
Summary: A series of shorts centered around Kirby and Meta Knight, AKA the angry bat father and his sorta-son. Also occasionally featuring their edge-lord counterparts. (Gijinka Verse) (Rating may change to T for some of the stories)
1. Minion Migraine

Meta was sincerely regretting ever stepping foot in the movie theater. The movie was certainly tolerable, albeit far too saccharine for his tastes. He'd even been mildly amused at some points. But the effect it was exerting on his young protégé was absolutely aggravating.

"Look at this one!" Kirby held up a garish yellow plush. Meta was also regretting his decision to allow himself to be dragged into the store. It had been rather close to the theatre and he hadn't seen any harm in it. He didn't even mind the mountain of toys Kirby had amassed. After all, somebody capable of constructing his own battleship certainly had more than enough money to go around. It was the choice of toys that was wearing on him.

"It looks the same as the other two" he sighed. Kirby gave Meta an impressively affronted look.

"But I don't have Kevin yet!" Meta blinked. He wasn't even aware that the small yellow creatures had names. He motioned for Kirby to deposit the toy in the already burgeoning cart with no small amount of defeat. It was happily placed atop the horrifying mound of bug-eyed creatures.

"Satisfied?" Meta drawled, eyeing the cart. Kirby had a brief moment of internal turmoil before nodding. He began to navigate the cart through screaming children (and some screaming parents), heading towards the cashier lanes. Though Meta had eschewed his usual armor-clad ensemble, he still was amazingly out of place in the brightly colored aisles. Clad in his long black coat and a pair of dark sunglasses in place of his usual helmet, he certainly drew more than a few wary glances. Meta came to a halt and began to place toys on the counter, trying his best to retain some semblance of decorum. He offered no response to the cheerful greeting of the cashier. The woman tried in vain to get his attention, offering comments on the toys, the weather, all of which was met by noncommittal noises from Meta. Kirby excitedly scuttled down the aisle to wait by the cart as Meta payed, bombarding the worker with rapid fire chattering. The knight silently took the receipt and began to leave, Kirby in tow.

"Have a good day!" the woman chirped.

"Hmm" Meta grumbled.

Hours later, Meta sat on the carpet of his castle room, surrounding by the remains of packaging. His fingers were stinging with the numerous small cuts inflicted by jagged plastic. Kirby happily played with the toys that had already been freed from their plastic prisons, due to Meta having barred him from helping after he had managed to cut the knight's arm far more effectively than the packaging. With a final vicious yank, he pulled the plush free and sighed with relief. This was the last one. He turned it over and eyed the tab sticking out from a plastic button, and pulled it out.

"BANANAAAAA" the plush let out a grating, shrill shriek. Meta reflexively hurled the thing across the room, resulting in a loud crash from the adjacent room. He stared in the direction of the noise before turning back to meet Kirby's gaze.

"Metaaaaaaa" Kirby admonished "That's not how you play with it!" Meta sighed, and dragged himself over to the couch.

"I'm certainly not enjoying it" he muttered. He decided that Sword and Blade could deal with whatever mess the high-velocity minion caused and grabbed the remote, flicking on the TV. He froze as he recognized the garish yellow creature in the commercial. Kirby perked up and listened intently.

"A minion movie!" he exclaimed. He turned to the knight; the most innocent, pleading and angelic look physically possible plastered across his face. "Meta, we can go see it right? Meta?" he whimpered.

It took every ounce of self-control for Meta not to scream.


	2. Nightmares

Meta's eyes shot open as a slit of light illuminated his bed. He sat up, and peered toward his now cracked open door. He sighed heavily, and flicked on his bedside lamp.

"What is it, Kirby?" he said. The pink haired child nervously shifted his feet. He was staying at Meta's castle room for the night after a storm rolled in while he was visiting. The knight had insisted on him staying rather than braving the storm, albeit in his usual prickly manner. Kirby scuttled over and stood next to Meta's bed, an uncharacteristically timid look on his face.

"I had a bad dream" he whimpered. Meta frowned. Kirby was usually borderline fearless.

"Come here" he sighed, shifting over. Kirby quickly hopped into the bed, and clung to Meta without hesitation. Meta grudgingly allowed it.

"You were hurt" Kirby whispered. Meta's frown deepened, and he awkwardly patted the youth's back.

"It's alright. I'm perfectly fine" his gruff voice did not lend itself well to a soothing tone. Kirby huffed, and looked up at the man.

"I know! It was just scary" he pouted. Meta let out a long breath.

"Kirby, it's fine. Everybody has nightmares occasionally" he said. He turned to find wide blue eyes boring into him.

"Do you have bad dreams too?" Meta glanced away for a second. _Always…_

"Sometimes" he answered. Kirby seemed surprised.

"Do all grown-ups get them?" he asked.

"There's no age limit to fear" Meta said.

"Huh." Kirby sat silently for a while. "Hey Meta?"

"Hm?" Meta snapped fully awake after briefly dozing off.

"Can I… stay here? For tonight?" he asked. Meta allowed himself to sink back into his bed.

"I suppose you may-"Kirby instantly latched on to him, and Meta obligingly put a protective arm around him.

"G'night Meta!" Kirby chirped.

"Good night, Kirby" Meta responded, flicking off the light. They slept soundly that night despite the storm still raging outside.

The scenario repeated itself several months later. Kirby watched TV as rain pounded the windows, and lightning occasionally illuminated the room. Meta had fallen asleep on the couch beside him. The knight had seemed utterly exhausted the last couple of weeks, so Kirby decided to leave him be. As the commercial break began, he hopped up for a snack. Or at least what Kirby called a snack. Most people would call it a meal. He swung open the fridge and began rummaging around. Meta had a similar metabolism as him, albeit to a lesser extent. Though he eschewed more unhealthy foods and stocked mostly fruit, aside from a jar of candy that was far above Kirby's reach. Kirby retrieved a container of watermelon slices, and subsequently dropped it as a shout came from the other room. He skidded into the room, ready to fight off whatever demon had reared its ugly head.

"Meta?!" he squeaked. The man had curled into a defensive position, digging his clawed fingers into his face as he clutched it in fear. His breath was ragged and shallow. "Meta!" Kirby shouted, running over and pulling at his hands. Meta's eyes regained their usual clarity, and his breath evened. He sat up quickly.

"Kirby! Are you alright?" he shouted. Kirby lightly pushed him back, preventing him from standing.

"You're bleeding! What happened?" Kirby asked. Meta noted the small amount of blood on his nails and the stinging sensation on one side of his head. He resisted the urge the curse loudly.

"Just… dreaming" he muttered, fully recalling his current location. Kirby hurriedly scampered over to his backpack before returning with a small box. Meta looked up from contemplating whether or not it was too unsanitary to wipe blood on the couch.

"Sit still" Kirby instructed, pulling out two Band-Aids. Meta obligingly allowed him access to the fresh scratches on his head. He declined to comment on the bandages' violently pink color or on the fact that one generally cleaned the injury before applying bandages. He really couldn't say anything. He was the moron who just clawed his own head. Kirby sat back, and Meta could feel the two pink additions stuck firmly in place.

"Thank you" he muttered. Kirby gave him a sudden hug.

"And that's for the nightmare" he quipped. Meta awkwardly returned the hug.

"You are far too perceptive for your own good" he mumbled. Kirby hopped up onto the couch beside him.

"I'll stay here to keep 'em away" he said brightly. Meta couldn't stop the small genuine smile from spreading across his lips.

"I'm sure you will" he chuckled. The past that so bitterly haunted him seemed so much further away when the future was beaming at him.

( **Author's note:** This is probably the sappiest thing I've written in a while. I like to think that Kirby is one of the few people who can see past Meta's aloof nature. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! -Poecilotheria)


	3. Traffic and Its Consequences

"AaaaaaaaAAAAGH! MOVE!" Meta snarled, smacking the steering wheel. The car in front of them failed to comply, causing Meta to mutter something unintelligible. Kirby was fairly sure he didn't want to hear it anyway. Kirby had finally managed to persuade the man to take him to a zoo that lay far beyond the small village in which they resided. Unfortunately that meant considerable traffic, which in turn meant considerable anger on Meta's part.

"I don't think they can hear you" Kirby said helpfully. He caught a glimpse of narrowed gray eyes in the rear-view mirror. Wearing a full face helmet was apparently in violation of some obscure traffic law, and he'd been forced to take it off by an unamused patrolman. This had done nothing to help his already foul mood.

"I'm aware" he muttered. Kirby was the only thing keeping him from his usual horrifically aggressive driving, but obeying the rules of the road was rapidly wearing on him. He silently cursed the absence of landing ports for any airborne transportation at the zoo.

"They've got bats there." Kirby's voice snapped Meta out of his fantasy of raining death upon the freeway via the Halberd. He raised an eyebrow.

"Alright?" he said slowly. Kirby leaned closer to the front of the car.

"You like bats" he quipped. Meta shrugged, peering at the signs passing overhead.

"I suppose" he said absently. The car suddenly jerked to the side as he deftly avoided a van drifting into his lane. "The little lines are there for a reason you imbecile!" he shrieked.

"They're your people" Kirby said cheerily. Meta abandoned his brief murderous impulse, and made a puzzled face.

"Kirby… I'm not actually a bat" he said. Kirby huffed.

"I know! I just thought…" he mumbled. Meta sighed heavily.

"I'm sure I will enjoy observing them" he said. His eyes were better adapted to dark environments anyway. Meta glanced in the rear-view mirror, and audibly growled. "Are my tail lights that appealing to you?!" he snarled in the vague direction of the tail-gating pickup.

"They're nice I guess."

"I wasn't speaking to you, Kirby" Meta said. Silence fell, punctuated only by the muffled sounds of traffic around them. Meta guided the vehicle towards their exit, relieved. They rounded the tight curve, Kirby supplying an excited sound at the movement. They stopped dead in their tracks at the line of cars at a standstill ahead. A roadside sign helpfully notified them that an accident had occurred a mile ahead in bright orange lights.

"I hope they're ok!" Kirby gasped. Meta banged his head against the steering wheel, emitting a low grumbling sound. He rummaged around the center console, and retrieved the only CD case he felt.

"I hope you like Queen" he grumbled, jamming it into the slot.

Hours and several agonizingly slow miles later, the ride had devolved into a sing along hosted by the angriest driver known to exist in the universe. Singing was a generous term for it, as Kirby was entirely tone deaf and Meta was mostly just screaming in fury, occasionally stopped to throw disparaging remarks at other drivers.

"…has a devil put aside for meeeee" Kirby hadn't known the words before, but now he did. "For meeeee… For me-"

"AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAGH" Meta screeched, drowning out even the high note. The car noticeably sped up, and they passed an area ringed with response vehicles and debris. Kirby watched the scene grow smaller out the rear window.

"That wasn't so bad" he chirped.

"I want to die" Meta deadpanned. He noticed how severely he was speeding, and slowed. Kirby started to bounce in his seat.

"We're almost there!" he sang, ignoring Meta's remark. The knight turned the stereo down.

"Indeed" he muttered. The rest of the drive went smoothly, and they soon pulled up to the expansive parking lot of the zoo. Meta purchased and placed the parking pass before snagging a spot. There was only an hour until closing and the place was seemingly half abandoned, but Kirby insisted an hour was enough. Meta exited the car, stiff legs aching horribly. He ensured Kirby had safely exited before locking it. A small hand slipped into his.

"We gotta stay together" Kirby said urgently. Meta gave him a weary smile.

"Of course." He suddenly didn't mind the hassle of getting there.

( **Author's note:** Inspired by my recent disastrous outing to the Lincoln Zoo. Gotta love Chicago traffic. Hope you enjoyed! -Poecilotheria)


	4. The Flip Side

Shadow Kirby wondered why he ever allowed himself to be dragged along to the theater. He also wondered why Dark Meta Knight didn't just order the movie to be given to him ahead of the release date. After the fall of Dark Mind, he'd seized power over Dreadland, so it would be easy enough for him to abuse his power. Perhaps the man had merely forgotten he could. For all of Dark's skill and influence, he was rather scatterbrained at times.

"Shadow" he started at the harsh voice. He turned to look at Dark. Unlike his Dreamland counterpart, Dark was incredibly vain and took every opportunity to show his face. Most would admit that the man was rather attractive, but Shadow just thought he was funny looking, as Dark's impeccable grooming habits clashed with both his scarred and missing eye and his tattered cape.

"What?" Shadow asked. Dark motioned toward the counter before them, irritated.

"What snacks do you want?" he snapped. Shadow only rolled his eyes. Dark was not a patient man at the best of times, but when he was actually anticipating something his impatience was unbearable.

"Large popcorn" he said. The attendant hurriedly fulfilled the request, handing Shadow the treat as she worriedly eyed Dark. A large sum of currency was flung at the poor woman, and she barely managed to catch it.

"Keep the change" Dark drawled, walking off. The gesture was entirely due to his impatience, not any sense of charity. They handed their tickets to a second attendant, grabbing 3D glasses and heading off towards the actual theater. Shadow could barely keep up with Dark's excited pace. "To think there's a new Star Wars movie after all these years" he said.

"Nerd" Shadow quipped. Dark lightly slapped the back of his head.

"Don't act like you aren't excited too" he snapped. Shadow shrugged.

"You do remember the prequels, right?" Shadow drawled. Dark twitched.

"Unfortunately" he grumbled. They came upon the correct theater and slipped inside, taking a prime seat in the center of the suspiciously empty seating. Shadow squinted at Dark. He had no doubt that the man had most likely threatened anyone else away. As soon as they were seated, the lights dimmed, and the two put their glasses on.

"These things always give me a headache" Shadow griped. Dark was entirely silent. He turned slowly to Shadow. "What is it?" he said slowly.

"I forgot that 3D doesn't work for me" he deadpanned. Shadow slapped a hand to his face and groaned loudly.

"You forgot that you're missing an eye?!" he asked incredulously. Dark huffed.

"Of course not! I just didn't realize that it would affect this" he growled.

"You do know how 3D works, right?" Shadow asked slowly. Dark gave him a fierce glare that would have chilled and silenced any other person. Shadow only gave him an unimpressed look.

"I'm aware" he snarled. There was a tense silence.

"Want to switch to a non 3D showing?" Shadow offered. Dark flung his glasses across the theater, satisfied at the resulting cacophony.

"Of course" he said, standing. Shadow followed behind him as they exited the theater. Shadow looked up at him, smirking.

"You know, you'd probably forget your own head if it weren't attached to you" he giggled. Dark gave him a notably weary glare.

"Shut up" he snapped.

( **Author's note:** Just wanted to explore the dynamic between these two. And yes, I know there wasn't a 3D showing of The Force Awakens but I couldn't think of a more suitable movie. Hope you enjoyed!)


	5. Role Swap

Stellar Knight surmised that 'difficult' was nowhere near adequate to describe the child currently clawing his way up a tree. Perhaps 'impossible' would be more fitting.

"Meta, get down from there!" Stellar ordered, tapping his staff against the tree trunk. The blue-haired child looked down at him from the branch he'd managed to balance on. Bat-like wings flared out from his back, seemingly too large for his small form.

"No" Meta responded, sounding far more commanding than one would expect. He stood, swaying unsteadily as he walked to the end of the branch. Stellar's eyes widened as he realized what Meta was planning to do.

"Come down here right now young man! That is far too high to practice flying from!" he called. Meta paused, and gazed down at the man. Stellar was not commanding or intimidating, but he spoke in a warm and familiar way that most people heeded. Meta was not one of those people.

"Heck the rules!" he shrieked defiantly, leaping from the branch. For a moment it almost seemed as if he would succeed, gliding slightly forward. Meta then proceeded to plummet like a rock, Stellar rushing to catch him. He landed safely in the man's arms, before looking up to a pair of concerned blue eyes.

"Are you OK?" Stellar prodded, performing his own cursory check for injuries.

"I'm fine. Lemme go" Meta grumbled, squirming. Stellar pulled him into a warm hug.

"But you're just too adorabl- OW!" Stellar set Meta down as quickly as possible while remaining gentle, and rubbed his hand. His glove had protected him from the child's pointed canines, but not from the force of the bite. "Meta, you can't bite people!" he admonished. Meta only stuck his tongue out.

"I just did" he taunted. Stellar sighed.

"You _shouldn't_ bite people" he amended. Stellar knelt and ruffled Meta's wild blue hair. "Right?" Meta huffed, and looked at the ground.

"I guess" he muttered. Stellar beamed at him. For all of his general shenanigans and contrary nature, Meta was a good kid.

"Now, the reason I asked you to meet me here is because I thought we could have a picnic in this beautiful weather" Stellar said. Meta perked up.

"What did you bring?" he chirped. A small movement of Stellar's staff caused a basket to materialize from a golden shroud of energy, and he caught it effortlessly. Another movement brought a blanket fluttering to the ground beside them. He sat at one end of the blanket and tossed an apple to Meta to prevent the child from attempting to steal the rest of the food before he could even set it out. It was caught and devoured rapidly, every bit of white flesh stripped from its core by sharp teeth.

"Slow down, you'll choke" Stellar warned. He himself had an even more voracious appetite, but Meta had yet to learn how to safely satisfy his. The child often sickened himself by overeating.

"What else is there?" Meta asked, tossing the core aside. Stellar handed him an expertly made sandwich, complete with toothpick and olive. He paused before grabbing his own, eyeing Meta.

"Don't swallow the toothpick this time" he teased. Meta stopped before he could take a bite and glared at him. Stellar was a… well, stellar cook, but mockery was enough to delay Meta from devouring his meal.

"That was once!" he shrieked.

"Then don't make it twice" Stellar chuckled. Meta gave him a surprisingly effective glare, for an eight year old. He made a show of picking out the toothpick, eating the olive, and tossing it aside.

"Jerk-face" he muttered, chomping down on his sandwich. Stellar watched Meta decimate the meal with amusement, eating his own at a more reasonable pace. Usually he would eat even faster than the child, but he wanted to set a better example. Meta completed his destruction of the sandwich and looked back up at Stellar. Crumbs and a smear of mayonnaise decorated his face.

"Hold still" Stellar said, pulling a napkin from the basket. He quickly wiped the debris from Meta's face as the child reluctantly allowed it. He licked his newly cleaned lips, and looked at Stellar expectantly.

"Dessert?" he asked. Stellar sighed. He regretted imparting his love of sweets onto his pupil.

"What's the magic word?"

"Gimme!"

" _Meta_."

"…Please?" he pleaded. Stellar smiled, and pulled a sealed container from the basket, pulling off the lid and sliding a spoon into the substance inside.

"Here's your parfait. I made your favorite" he said, handing the treat over. Meta grabbed the parfait eagerly and gave Stellar a rare grin.

"Thank you!" he sang, before tucking in. Stellar pulled out a slice of strawberry shortcake, and the two ate in comfortable silence for several minutes. Meta handed the now empty container back to Stellar. He then began to stare impatiently at the man.

"What's the matter?" Stellar asked, setting aside his now empty plate. Meta stood.

"Let's train!" he said. Most people would love to have such an eager student. However, Meta went far beyond just eager, and had a seemingly infinite amount of energy. Stellar leaned back, sighing quietly.

"Must we?" he groaned. Meta grasped the small hilt tucked into his pocket and swung it high into the air, the blade crackling into existence.

"Train! Train! Train!" he chanted, swiping with his sword to emphasize every word. Stellar stood and allowed the blanket and basket to evaporate back into nothing.

"Alright, alright. Just be careful where you swing Galaxia, OK?" he said. Meta lowered the blade, a bright look in his eyes.

"OK" he answered. An idea sprung into Stellar's mind.

"I'll race you there" he said mischievously. Meta narrowed his eyes.

"I'll beat you!" he declared, racing off down the hill towards the field where he trained. He occasionally hopped into the air and flew slightly before stumbling back to earth. A blur of light passed him.

"Hello Meta" Stellar chuckled. Meta gave him a wounded look.

"Using your Warpstar is cheating!" he screeched. Stellar slowed until he was keeping pace with Meta. The child was admittedly extraordinarily quick, and Stellar surmised that once he learned flight he may not even be able to keep up with his pupil.

"There. Better?" he chuckled. Meta glared at him, and flapped his wings as hard as possible, rising a few feet from the ground and fluttering alongside Stellar for a short while. Stellar swooped in to catch him before he could complete his inevitable fall.

"I flew!" Meta said, shocked. A familiar hand patted his head.

"You did!" Stellar beamed. He didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd flown for maybe a foot at most.

( **Author's note:** Silly AU I thought of. Kirby is Stellar Knight in case it wasn't obvious. I figured he'd be more of a mage like fighter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! -Poecilotheria)


	6. Prophetic

It had started with the wings.

Meta had long known that Kirby would eventually sprout them. They were the same species, after all. They were feathery, unlike Meta's bat-like ones, and an appealing off-white color. Absolutely angelic in appearance, which suited Kirby well. The two were already engaging in frequent flying lessons, and while it was apparent that Kirby would be nowhere near as swift as Meta, they enjoyed themselves immensely. Soaring through clouds, comfortable in their wind-imposed silence.

Then the horns. It wasn't common for their species, but it wasn't rare either. Meta had been certain to assure Kirby of this when he had first come running to him about the two painful lumps growing on his head. At least, that was what he'd gleaned from the ancient tomes he'd read, not exactly having met many of his own species. He'd helped with the discomfort the best he knew how, all while idly wondering what they would look like once they broke through the skin.

It was a perfect spring day when Kirby ran up to Meta, excitedly clutching a piece of paper. He had hit his growth spurt as he reached his teens, now easily several inches taller than Meta. Though being taller than the diminutive man wasn't exactly uncommon.

"Check it out! I was hanging out with Adeleine and she drew what I want my armor to look like!" Kirby chirped, wings fluttering adorably. Meta took the offered paper, and suddenly ice clogged his veins. It took every ounce of restraint he had to prevent his hands from trembling.

"It looks very impressive, Kirby" he choked, averting his eyes from the rough sketch of Galacta Knight.

(I never promised that all these drabbles would be happy 3 I actually don't believe in this headcanon, but it's a really cool one and I wanted to write about it)


	7. Breaking the Cycle

Meta stared at the ground, trying to focus on the tears dripping off of his face rather than the words that had caused them. The child knew that crying would only make it worse, but he couldn't stop…

"Stop crying, child" that voice was so familiar, and yet so very frightening. Meta desperately wiped at his face, shivering.

"S-sorry… I ca-can't…" he hiccupped. Nightmare drew himself to his full height to tower over the terrified child. A large cold hand rested on his head.

"Stop crying" he said again, his tone causing a knot of dread to form in Meta's stomach. Meta desperately pressed his arms over his eye, trying to staunch his tears.

"D-dad… I'm sorry…" he choked, shaking even harder.

"Don't apologize!" the harsh tone made Meta flinch, and the hand on his head tightened its grip. "Apologies mean nothing. How are you going to fix what you've done?" Meta swept his trembling gaze to the shattered monitor. He hadn't meant to damage it, why was father so angry?

"I d-don't know…" he whispered. Nightmare suddenly shoved Meta, who only barely kept his balance.

"Clean up your mess, you useless child" he snarled. Meta scurried over to the scattered glass beneath the broken screen, and turned back to Nightmare.

"I-I'm gonna get all cut up… Can I g-go get a-"

"Pick it up. Pain is the only mentor you seem to listen to" he said flatly. The small child steeled himself, before sweeping the glass into his hands. As he picked every last shard from the ground, he suffered small stinging cuts and pieces of glass stuck into his skin. That night, he drifted off to sleep on a tear-soaked pillow, like so many nights before.

Meta Knight snapped awake as a horrible crash echoed through the halls of his base. He sprung out of bed and raced down the hall, fairly sure as to whom the culprit was. He found his answer in the crew meeting room. Kirby sat frantically sweeping pieces of the picture frame he'd knocked over, and Meta scooped him up in a flash, setting him away from the mess.

"Show me your hands" he snapped, forcibly grabbing them when Kirby refused. Little cuts and pieces of glass littered the child's palms. "Kirby, for Nova's sake…" he muttered, delicately prying at one of the embedded shards. Kirby flinched away.

"Oww!" he squeaked.

"Of course it hurts, you-"Meta stifled his words, realizing who he was echoing. He sat in absolute silence, before resting a gentle hand on Kirby's shoulder. "I'm sorry it hurts, but I must remove the glass. Otherwise it will only hurt worse later, correct?" he said softly. Kirby allowed Meta to grasp his hands and return to his task, whimpering a little with each removed shard. "Why would you grab glass bare-handed?" he asked gently.

"I felt bad and wanted to clean it up but… I don't know where the dust pan is…" Kirby murmured. Meta shook his head.

"You truly thought you should subject yourself to injury because of an innocent mistake?" he asked.

"I didn't think it'd hurt this bad!" Kirby huffed. He made one final indignant sound as Meta secured the final shard and pulled it free. Meta stood, and gazed down at Kirby, concern written on his face.

"It is necessary to clean the wounds…" he trailed off. Kirby reached his arms up.

"Carry me" Kirby whined. Meta sighed.

"You are taller than me, Kirby. I'd rather not" he deadpanned. Kirby hopped up, following the knight as he meandered to the nearest sink.

"It's not my fault you're super short!" Meta chose to ignore that comment as he stopped beside the nearby kitchen, motioning at the sink.

"Clean thyself" he drawled. Kirby eyed the sink with trepidation, before giving in and cleaning his cuts dutifully, only flinching a little when he lathered on the soap. Meta dug in his cape as the child drayed his hands in a towel, before laying out a small box of bandages. Kirby gasped, eyeing the package.

"Sparkly Band-Aids!" he squealed, grinning. He eagerly held out his hands, and Meta sighed.

"You know, you are perfectly capable of bandaging yourself" he teased, though he had already opened the package and began tearing open one of the wrappers. Soon Kirby's hands were decorated with a multitude of shining holographic bandages.

"Thanks Meta!" Kirby chirped, mesmerized by the shimmering bandages.

"Don't let those be too much of a distraction" Meta chuckled. He dutifully steered Kirby towards the guest room, taking care to prevent him from walking straight into a wall. Kirby walked into his room, still watching his fingers. "Good night Kirby" he called out.

"G'night!" Kirby responded, finally snapping his gaze away from his hands. Meta gently closed the door, smiling. The child of the stars drifted off to sleep, head swimming with thoughts of his friends like so many nights before.


End file.
